Another balancing question

[chriscraig]

In preparation for setting up my keezer, I decided to try to figure out how to balance the system before I even got it

I've done a lot of reading, and it seems to me that you have to vary the beer line inner diameter and/or length from style to style in order to get a good pour. That is...unless I'm missing something.

Here's what I've learned (right or wrong):

1. You need to maintain consistent CO2 pressure on the keg at a consistent temperature to maintain the proper volume of CO2 in the beer for a given style. (eg. An English bitter at 38F needs a constant pressure of 6PSI to maintain 2.0 volumes of CO2)

2. In order to get "the perfect pour", your systems resistance needs to equal your serving pressure. If I have that same English bitter at 6PSI at 38F to maintain 2.0 volumes, I need 6 PSI resistance in the beer line and tap.

3. If I want to serve 2 different styles (or 2 different beers at different carbonation levels), assuming I can set the pressure on each keg independently, I'm going to need to change the line length or inner diameter in order to achieve that "perfect pour"

Does this seem right, or have I missed something?

 

[mlyday]

That seems right to me. Most of my beers are in the 2.4 range so I use almost the same length on all of the kegs, but I do get a piece or 2 of longer and short tube in the brewroom, for those occasions when I want to differ it.

 

[chriscraig]

Ok. I read so many posts about people fiddling with the serving pressure to correct foaming issues, that I wasn't sure.

Thanks mlyday

 

[mlyday]

One of the problems I ran into early on was I would try to carb the beer faster at like 25psi and then drop it to what I had figured was the correct serving pressure, but by that point the beer was overcarbed, and I had to play the lower-raise pressure game to get a good beer.

The best thing you can do is figure out the right psi that works for carbing and serving and just leave it, and wait for the beer to carb up at that temp. If your hose length is good you're good to go.

 

[Yooper]

OR...............you could use long lines no matter what. If you have 10' lines, the worst thing that can happen is a slightly slower pour. In my system, at 8 psi a pour might take 4-5 seconds to pour a pint while 18 psi might take 2 seconds. It's still perfectly carbonated, though, so I think the longer lines work great.

 

[bengerman]

In order to set a differen pressure for different kegs you'll need a reg for each keg.
You can use on reg for multiple kegs using splices, but all of the kegs will be at the same pressure.

 

[JuanMoore]

OR...............you could use long lines no matter what. If you have 10' lines, the worst thing that can happen is a slightly slower pour. In my system, at 8 psi a pour might take 4-5 seconds to pour a pint while 18 psi might take 2 seconds. It's still perfectly carbonated, though, so I think the longer lines work great.

Exactly. I'm not running a bar that serves high volumes of beer where seconds of time add up to something critical. If I have time for a homebrew, I have an extra few seconds to wait for it to pour. At the very least, make sure the lines are all long enough for the highest carb level you'll ever want to pour.